Harry Potter and the Forest Glade
by Eliphelet
Summary: A time of change is coming.  The war picks up pace as Harry enter his sixth year at Hogwarts.  OOTP compliant.
1. The Sundering

Harry Potter and the Forest Glade

Chapter One – The Sundering

There had not been a gathering like this for years. Decades even. The large hall had remained sealed for that long, no one treading on the hallowed floors of the hall. For the hall was indeed a hallowed place, or at least it had once been. The halls had once upon a time been a meeting place for the senior leaders of the Catholic Church. Popes over hundreds of years had been given power in this room. For the last millennia though, other meetings had been held here. This is where The Brethren gathered when a full meeting was called. And this was the first full meeting in a very long time. You could hear the shuffling of cloaks, for some had travelled from far away to meet here this night. Of course they had, this was an important evening for The Brethren. Perhaps the most important any of them had even seen, despite the age of this group. And despite the long lives of these people there was no life in this hall.

The building was the sacred meeting hall of The Brethren, the leader of the Vampires. They were gathered here tonight to decide upon the future of their race. Ten leaders one for each of the vampire clans. A gathering of this sort was truly unheard of. Indeed the last time a meeting of this nature had been called it had been nigh on fifty years ago; called to discuss the rising of the dark lord Grindelwald. Millions and millions of souls had died during this war, due to Grindelwald's alliance with Hitler. And yet all ten clans recognised that the present threat was all the more dangerous, and that Grindelwald and all the power he commanded paled in comparison. The talks of The Brethren had quickly dissolved into arguments however and a decision on the current matter was proving hard to agree on.

"The dark lord Voldemort can offer our people power, more power than we have ever had, and would ever have by aligning with the light." Mechurae was keen to agree to an alliance with the dark lord, and he was not alone in his thoughts.

"It would allow us to rule over the mortals. For millennia our forefathers dreamed of this day. To through it away would be madness," mused one.

"Think Sathuran, just think of the possibilities."

Sathuran, in truth was seething. He alone out of the clans knew the danger of siding with Voldemort in the coming battles. He was not a wizard to be trifled with. Sathuran was a true ancient. Millenia old he had seen the world change in many ways. Unofficially he was the leader of the ten clans. Gifted with great power he understood the curse that this could be.

"You do not know of what you speak, to align ourselves with this dark wizard would mean the end of our kind. We are not animals, striving only for the kill. For centuries we have honed our skills, the evilest of creatures in this world fear our power. Not because we are evil. Not because we are murderers or terrorists. We do not stoop to this level. Leave that for the swine, the pigs. All of you are but children in the grand scheme of things, you do not understand the way of this world as I do. To align with Voldemort would be folly. We would be reduced to mere slaves whatever you think. Have you not heard how he marks his followers? With the image of a skull on their arms. To align with him would be to accept this branding. Which of you would be willing to accept that?"

"The dark lord has promised…"

"Voldemort is a liar. He holds no more respect for those that serve him than he does for those he strikes down. I myself have been present in many of the great events of the world. The fall of the Egyptian empire. The crucifixion. The parting of the ways. The _discovery_ of the new world. More wars than you can imagine. Nothing I have seen or experienced compares to the atrocities that will be committed by this wizard." He looked around at them all. They had to understand should they make the wrong choice. They had to realise what their choice would mean. "My seers have been greatly disturbed since the last moon. They have foretold that many great and terrible things are on the way." He hesitated and decided that he would have to share what he knew to be the truth. He looked directly at Mechurae, urging him with his eyes to see reason. "The seers have seen the future. All the races of the light will join under one banner and fight. It will be the war to end all wars. We vampires…we ancients have spent too long in the background of this world. When the elves departed from this world did we do anything? No. When humans were cursed and the werewolf affliction started spreading did we do a thing to stop the spread? No. When the many light races of this world departed we did nothing. We have stood back and watched many die. Now we are required to make a choice."

There was no noise for the smallest of moments and then Sathuran delivered the killing blow. "Tonight will hail the sundering of the ancients. Each clan leader must choose his own path, and his clan will follow him. Myself, I will join with the light. I wish to see a hope for our race. Know this, Voldemort offers nothing but death. He will bring unmentionable evil into this world.

I urge you my brethren, make a choice…

To be continued…


	2. The Resolution

Harry Potter and the Forest Glade

Chapter 2 - The Resolution

It had already been a week since school had ended, and already Harry Potter was fed up of his relatives. Sure they had not been mean, cruel, forced him to do anything or even talked to him at all. In fact they had barely noticed him since he had returned for the summer. And it was this that was winding up Harry the most. The complete lack of anything from them.

Truth be told Harry couldn't wait to get to The Burrow. He couldn't wait to see all his friends, no, his family again. He'd be going there soon he knew. He'd received the official invite just a day after he came back to Privet Drive, inviting him to Bill and Fleur's wedding. Of course thinking about his family made him think of the people that would not be there, people that should have been there. Sirius, Cedric, even his mum and dad. Then there was the most recent person. Dumbledore. Dumbledore, the greatest wizard in the world, had died just over a week ago. Once again someone had died protecting Harry. It had finally sunk in, that he would never see his headmaster again. That he'd never seen the bright twinkle that the old man carried in his eyes. And of course thinking of Dumbledore made him think of the man who had killed him.

Harry swore that he would kill Snape. He knew that because of the man's actions thousands of people would probably die. He still couldn't quite believe that it had been Snape who had sent that curse. Yes he knew the man was a total prat, and Ron had said so often enough. But for him to kill Dumbledore? Even Trelawney wouldn't have been audacious enough to predict that.

He thought there might have been more to Dumbledore's death than it seemed though, he was never the type of person who would beg for their life. Maybe something else was going on there that none of them knew about. In the end though it didn't really matter, Snape was still a murderer, and Harry would make sure he'd pay for it.

Hearing a squawk he turned towards the window, knowing exactly what he would find. As the feathery ball of fluff that was Ron's owl flew into the room, Harry reacted with his seeker-honed reflexes and snatched him from the air.

"Shut up you stupid owl", he said. The little owl was more conspicuous than Hagrid, despite its rather diminutive size. Taking the two envelopes from the owl he went to the window and threw him out, his own owl giving him a dignified hoot of approval in the process. He knew Hermione was spending time with her family in Corfu before the wedding this summer, which meant that the two letters must be from Ron…and Ginny. Harry had mixed feelings about that girl. He had really loved spending time with her and she was very pretty and everything, but truth be told he didn't have nearly the time for a romantic relationship at the moment. He had a war to fight and a relationship of that nature would simply get in the way. Figuring the letter from Ginny would simply be her begging for him to make another go of it he decided to open Ron's envelope first.

_Harry,_

_Hey mate how's it going? Can't wait till you can come here, these girls are driving me bonkers. Fleur, mum and even Ginny are all running round about this damn wedding. What's the big deal anyway? Bill's looking much better though, he's still very scarred but he's home and doing pretty well. Seriously though mate when are you coming? How long are you planning on staying there, I would have thought you'd be straight out now that you're not being forced to live there by anyone. Still I understand, it is what Dumbledore would have wanted I guess. You get any problems with those damn muggles though just holler. Not literally of course, not sure if there's actually a guard on you anymore without Dumbledore around to organise it._

_Heard mum and dad talking, apparently the order is in shambles. Seems no one can decide who should lead it and what they should do. Apparently they always looked to Dumbledore for that sort of thing. I miss him you know. I played him in chess once, the only person to really trounce me! Anyway Harry get over here soon, not sure I can take much more of these 'preparations'. _

_See you soon_

_ Ron_

_P.S. I dunno what Ginny wanted to say to you, as you made it clear to her that everything's over and all, watch out though she had an almost evil look on her face when she gave this to pig._

It was just typical Ron thought Harry, and it made him smile. He hoped he and his friends would be this close in years to come, assuming there were years to come anyway. The news about the order was troubling though. Thinking about it, it was kinda hard to pinpoint someone who could actually lead it. Moody was way too gung-ho, Tonks was way out of the question as she was often a bit immature, Remus was out simply for his "furry little problem". Harry himself had no prejudice at all against werewolves but he knew that was not the likely feeling of most. And none of the teachers would be any good, they had too much responsibility as it was. No he wasn't sure who could possibly lead the order now that Dumbledore was gone.

Deciding to forget about this for the moment Harry turned to the other letter, the one addressed to him in Ginny's small writing.

_Harry,_

_I expect you were probably thinking that this would be a letter begging you to take me back, _(Harry almost blushed at this, as he had in fact been thinking that exact thought,) _but I'm sorry to disappoint you as that's not going to happen. I do think you've made a big mistake in splitting up with me, but I do at least understand your ridiculous reasoning and see that you have good reason to think the way you are. I'm writing this letter simply as a show of support. You've got a long road ahead of you Harry, and whether you like it or not, with Dumbledore gone, you're gonna find people looking to you for their hope. All I wanted to say is whatever you need, I'll be there for you. I want to be there for you in so many ways. Forgetting that though, I promise to be there for you whenever you need me, and for whatever reason you need me. _

_Please keep in touch with me Harry, don't try and cope with it all by yourself. Let me help you._

_All my love_

_ Ginny._

He had very good reasons for breaking it off with Ginny, though he was finding it hard to remember those reasons right now. She had been a bright part of his year last year in the midst of the war. Not the only bright part by any means, but she seemed to have the ability to make him smile when he least felt like smiling. However although he would miss that, he realised the danger that being with him at this time left her in, and had no desire to see her hurt. That's the thing he was truly most afraid of. Not only of Ginny getting hurt, but for all of his friends. It felt as though he had lost so many people already, Dumbledore just the latest in a long and growing chain. What were the chances of all nine Weasleys living through the war? In all honesty, he felt it was quite unlikely, and the thought terrified him. The Weasleys had taken him into their home and treated him like a member of their family. If any of them died or were hurt he knew how guilty he would feel. He knew, that had they not known him they wouldn't be this involved in the war. That's not to say that it would be entirely his fault, but a portion of the blame would surely lie squarely on his shoulders. If for no other reason than the fact that he knew it was his responsibility to end the war, to kill Voldemort.

Harry dropped Ginny's letter onto his desk and lay back in his chair, eyes towards the ceiling. The feeling of hopelessness that always accompanied thoughts such as these came back, strong as ever. He had no idea how he was going to stop Voldemort. He had almost believed that when it came to the final battle that Dumbledore would fight him, and leave Harry to give the final Avada Kedavra to finish him off. He had hoped anyway. In reality though he knew quite clearly that in the end it was to come down to him and Voldemort alone. He had known this before he had even heard that there was a prophecy declaring him as the "chosen one". With Dumbledore gone, even the small amount of hope he had was almost gone. He really would have to stand against him alone.

"_Either must die at the hand of the other..."_

What a strange sensation it was, to know that you had to either kill or be killed. He didn't have the luxury of wondering what he would do should a situation of the sort ever arise. He knew for a fact that he was destined to either kill a man, or be killed. If you could even call Voldemort a man anymore. Harry wondered briefly how he ended up the way he had. How he changed from Tom Riddle into Lord Voldemort. Dumbledore's shared memories of the younger Tom Riddle were truly insightful, but didn't go far enough in explaining to Harry what had made Voldemort the creature he was. What would drive a man to murder and split his own soul into separate pieces.

"...for neither can live while the other survives."

Harry knew that his childhood was in many ways a lot like that of Tom Riddle's. Voldemort had said himself more than once that they were alike. Both had grown up orphans, mistreated by the people who were supposed to care for them. What was it that made them turn out to be who they were? Was it the Dark Arts that Tom Riddle used? Was there something about that kind of magic that twisted and turned your soul? Harry didn't see how that could possibly be true. While he wasn't about to start inflicting curses at everyone he met he didn't see how that branch of magic could so adversely harm oneself. So called light magic could be used in very harmful ways if one wished. Could a drying charm be used to absorb all the moisture out of a human body? A levitation charm could float someone off a balcony dropping them to their death. And yet they were both spells that Harry had been taught in his very first year at Hogwarts!

Harry had never really seen any evidence that certain branches of magic corrupt you in ways that others can't. He was more of the belief that it was your intentions that mattered.

So if this was true, as Harry believed it was, the question remained. What drove Tom Riddle to become the creature that Voldemort is today? Harry swore that he would find out. He vowed not to make the same mistake, whatever mistake Voldemort had made.

Harry got up from his chair and went to the small window at the end of his bad. The sun was just starting to set over Privet Drive, the night sky peaceful. A stark contrast to the thoughts running through Harry's mind.

"_He will have power the Dark Lord knows not..."_

What power? Harry had no real idea what the prophecy was talking about when it said this. Harry didn't have any real power. Could it be, as Dumbledore obviously believed, that the power Harry had was love? He didn't see how that could really be true. He had no idea how that could possibly help him to defeat Voldemort anyway. What was he going to do, walk up to Voldemort, show him the sign of peace and give him a hug? Harry chuckled at the mental picture of it. Somehow he didn't think that would do it. Dumbledore clearly believed that love was the power that the Dark Lord didn't know. Harry wasn't ready to dismiss anything, Merlin knew Dumbledore was nearly always right. But he also knew that in some areas Dumbledore had been shown to be gravely wrong.

"_He will have power the Dark Lord knows not..."_

Harry had wasted a lot of time he knew. He couldn't help but wonder why Dumbledore had never offered him any type of advanced training, knowing what he was going to eventually have to do. But when it came down to it, he knew that the responsibility for this lay firmly on his own shoulders. How many opportunities to learn something useful had Harry missed out on because he was so busy with other things. How many times had a potentially useful spell been covered in class, but Harry had been too busy fooling around with Ron to take any notice. Harry knew that if Hermione had proved anything over the years, it was that knowledge is power. He couldn't count the number of times that she had come to the rescue with some obscure spell that he had never even heard of, much less known how to perform. He didn't even know how to destroy the horcruxes, and yet he knew that this was something that had to be done before he even started thinking about going after Voldemort directly.

Harry hoped that he'd be able to visit Diagon Alley sometime this summer. There were some things that he really needed to buy. Regardless of whether love turned out to be the "power the Dark Lord knows not", Harry knew he had to start training. There were after all a multitude of Death Eaters and Dark creatures under Voldemort's command, and there was no such prophecy offering any kind of power over them. Yes Harry knew it was time to start preparing, and until he was able to get his hands on some more advanced material, he decided that he would stick with the resources he had, and learn as much as he could.

Harry watched, as the sun, lighting the evening sky with warm colours, slowly sank behind the houses, of Privet Drive.


End file.
